TabletTV Starting in San Francisco

Moderator

TabletTV, a joint venture of Motive Television and Granite Broadcasting, has begun to take orders for a subscription-free service that will enable tablet owners to receive dozens of broadcast TV channels without need for an Internet or cellular connection or a traditional pay-TV service.

TabletTV, which is debuting in San Francisco under a partnership with Granite-owned station KOFY-TV, is selling a start-up kit that includes an $89.95 “T-Pod” unit and an iOS-compatible app. The company expects to introduce an app for Android-powered tablets in 2015, and is also looking to extend support to a range of smartphones and “phablet” models, as well.

TabletTV is selling the kit online, but noted that shipping will start “as soon as possible,” as the date is subject to schedules determined by Amazon, which is providing TabletTV’s fulfillment services.

The T-Pod, which acts as an antenna tuner, captures free, over-the-air TV signals for display on tablets that are outfitted with the TableTV app, estimating that owners will have access to as many as 50 digital broadcast network and local channels, including local ABC, CBS, Fox, and PBS feeds (so long as the user has access to a decent over-the-air digital TV signal).